


Future

by TirNanOg89



Series: Past Is Prologue [1]
Category: Merlin (TV), Primeval
Genre: AU, M/M, Series Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-14 09:11:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3405206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TirNanOg89/pseuds/TirNanOg89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin has to go further than he ever imagined to save Arthur.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Future.

The great dragon looked down at Merlin in pity as he begged for his kings life. There was one last journey for him with his young friend. There had long been tales of a special place, a place only the older dragons could call forth, and they could help, he only hoped they could still help his young charge and the Once and Future King. And let them all fulfil their destiny.

"Merlin, nothing here and now can help him, but there is a place, people, who may be able to save him, if we are lucky, but it will mean leaving everything…"  
"Do it now! Nothing else matters, don't you understand? Nothing! He can not die now!"  
"Then bring him up, and I will take you to them."

Merlin didn’t say another word, he heaved Arthur into his arms one more time and carried him onto Kilgharrah's back. The dragon took in a deep breath as if he was readying his fire but what appeared to be broken glass came out of his mouth instead. Merlin would have been fascinated at any other time but his entire being was centred on Arthur. The blue glass formed a rough, loose circle and then moved swiftly towards them, engulfing them in it's light.

************************ 

The Anomaly Detection Device blared out its warning but it was mostly unnecessary, a huge anomaly had opened at one end of the Hub. Conner had been sat in his new place at the ADD with Abby stood at his shoulder. Cutter and Steven were in Lester's office getting dressed down for yet another misdemeanour, and ran out only to stop in stunned shock at the sight, then the damn thing moved! Cutter was fascinated and a little scared, that was new and unexpected and very worrying. Steven started shouting for guns and soldiers, and Abby and Conner were stunned silent for a moment before Conner began babbling. Abby joined the babbling as soon as she saw the huge creature standing where the moving anomaly had left it in the middle of the room, before the anomaly disappeared as fast as it had appeared. There was a cacophonous commotion as they all tried to take in the sheer enormity of the creature, it barely fit in the room, before a deep and menacing roar left it. Or at least, the man on it's back. The creature lowered it's head to the floor in the silence that followed and the man slid off it's neck cradling an armour clad blond man to his chest, carrying what looked to be a huge sword on his hip. 

"Silence! You will cease your mewling! And you will save your King! NOW!"  
"What the hell?!"  
"You will save him! He will not die, not now, after everything, I will not allow it! Kilgharrah said you are his only hope, so you will save him!"

Cutter could see the tear tracks down the young mans determined face, and realised that for all his orders and overbearing presence, he was a young man in fear of loosing someone he loved. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called the infirmary, handing it to Steven to let them know they had a visitor as he made his way down the ramp to the young man.

"Come with me lad, I'm Nick, bring him this way. Will yer wee beastie behave if you leave him?"  
"What?"  
"Yer beastie, not gonna try and eat anyone?"  
"Kilgharrah wont need to defend his self if nobody attacks him."  
"Right you are lad. I can help carry him if you want, looks heavy with all that armour."  
"It is."  
"We can take it off when we get to the infirmary."  
"Off? I am such a fool!"

Cutter was going to try and reassure the boy that he was in fact probably in shock, not stupid, but the boy muttered under his breath and his eyes flashed gold before the armour clattered to the floor. Cutter was stunned speechless again as he shared a look with Steven over the lads shoulder, but his feet automatically took him on to the infirmary so it wasn’t too obvious. Merlin gently placed Arthur on the nearest bed and was immediately surrounded by medics. 

"Come on lad, step back out of their way, let them do their job. They're trying to help him but they need room."  
"He was stabbed, by a dragon blade, and he has a fever, nothing I have tried is helping him, I can't do anything! I should have let Mordred die like Kilgharrah said, I should have killed him! Damn Morgana! Damn Uther! Damn them all! Aithusa! Mordred never would have hit him had she not interfered! I'll kill her!"

It was said with such cold certainty that Nick didn’t doubt it for a second, but he couldn’t hear what was being said in Merlin's mind.

"Merlin, she could not control how she was raised, if you had kept her close and raised her properly…"  
"Do NOT dare Kilgharrah! Do not dare! You could have raised her! She would have been killed if she had stayed with me! And so would I. You had no excuse, do not try to blame this on me! I have enough guilt for a dozen life times but not that! That is on you!"

Merlin had turned in his direction as soon as Kilgharrah spoke in his mind, but he replied out loud without realising it. Nick was staring at him again and he would have been embarrassed if he had thought of anything but Arthur and the dragon. One of the medics glared at him for shouting but Nick shook his head quickly before he spoke, the last thing he wanted to do was provoke the lad further, he hadn't touched the sword on his belt yet and he hoped to keep it that way. The lead medic was giving orders to prep the young man for surgery and Nick knew it was going to be next to impossible to keep the lad out of their way. The last thing he wanted to do was come across as aggressive but if he had to he would have the lad sedated, there were enough corpse men around to pin him down if necessary, he hoped. 

"Come on Lad, your friend needs surgery, you can't go in with him, it's not safe, come with me."  
"You think you're taking him anywhere it's not safe?"  
"That's not what I meant! The room is sterile, everything is really clean, to keep him safe, and you're filthy!"  
"Well I was almost killed! And I had to carry Arthur to safety and wait for Gaius in the woods, then get him to Avalon and the horses ran off when Morgana attacked us, and that was after the caves and Camlann. Then I rode Kilgharrah here, I'd like to see you look any better!"

Nick couldn’t help but laugh at the deeply offended response.

"I wasn’t criticising lad, just explaining. I think we need to have a long talk about who you are and how you got here, because if you are who I think you are our Lester may well have a fit."

Nick's suspicions about the young men were getting more solid the more he heard, but he was more than a little wary of saying anything before having proof that he wasn’t more insane then most of them already thought he was since the 'Claudia Incident'.

"Who do you think I am?"

The boy was even more wary than he was feeling.

"Don’t worry about it for right now. The medics are taking your friend for surgery and that will take some time, so why don’t we go back to yer wee beastie and see if we can't get him out of the hub? Then we can all sit down and talk."  
"Kilgharrah wont like you calling him that, but I probably should rescue your friends."  
"Don’t worry about them lad, we deal with beasties for a living."

The boy smirked at him.

"But you've never dealt with a Great Dragon!"

Nick smiled as he wondered exactly which dinosaur the creature actually was and led the boy back to the Hub. 

********************* 

Everyone stood staring at the creature. It stared back for a while, then sighed, closed it's eyes and looked like it had gone to sleep. Lester looked from it to Conner and back in a significant manner, but Conner didn’t notice.

"Well?"  
"Huh?"  
"So eloquent, what is it?"

'It' opened its eyes and glared at Lester, the look was so full of distain he just knew the thing understood him. Though that was blatantly ridiculous. 

"Oh, well, I don’t know. There's nothing like this in the history of dinosaurs."

The creature snorted derisively.

"Is it just me, or does it seem to understand every word we say?"  
"No, it's not just you Steven, it glared at me! Now what are we supposed to do with it? Ask it nicely to move elsewhere?"  
"Might work."

Lester glared at Conner, though he couldn’t help thinking that it actually might.

"Right, well I don’t think everyone needs to be here to watch it, get back to work the lot of you. Steven, get some tranquillisers just in case."

With that he turned his back on the insanity and walked back into his office, wishing not for the first time that he could slam the door. 

************* 

It wasn’t long after he had left that Lester heard movement down in the hub and walked back out to see what was going on. The young man had come back with Cutter, and though he was looking a little less aggressive, he didn’t look any less tense. He walked straight back to the creature and bowed deeply.

"Thank you. They looked worried but hopeful when they took him. I don’t know what this 'surgery' they think to perform might entail, but they do seem hopeful. You have given him a chance, and that is all he has ever needed."

Everyone in the hub was staring at the clearly insane young man as he spoke directly to the creature, though it did seem to be listening to him as it bowed back. 

Then they all almost died of shock.

"And all you have ever asked for young Dragon Lord. You have both fulfilled your destiny. I am honoured to have known and aided you both. He is a great King, and his legacy holds even to this time we have now entered. Camelot will stand without him now, Guinevere will lead them well, and their issue will reign for many generations and lead for many more. Take care young Dragon Lord, for these new times are troubled, You have bought Arthur here where he needs to be, but he still needs you at his side. Do not forget what I have told you young one, you are two sides of the same coin, neither can be without the other. Fare well young one, and don’t be too harsh with Aithusa when you call her, I shall find her when I return and correct my mistake."  
"Thank you Kilgharrah, you never know, we might meet again. And I will call her when I am ready, tell her not to come to me until then, I need time. Goodbye old friend, and fare thee well."

With that they both bowed and Merlin stepped back out of the way as Kilgharrah once more created a portal and disappeared back to his own time. Merlin had a moment to wonder how Gwen, Gaius and the others would fair without them before a seriously unhappy Lester broke the silence.

"What the bloody HELL? I have Merlin and King Arthur in my facility and a bloody DRAGON just spoke to him! Call the bloody shrink! You lot have finally driven me round the bloody bend!"

Then he turned sharply on his heel and stormed back into his office, swiftly followed by several heavy objects being thrown out of the door and the blinds being pulled. Merlin looked up at him in confusion for a moment before shrugging and muttering 'clotpole' under his breath. Nick looked over at Steven and they shared a smirk at Lester's histrionics. Helen had thought she was dropping a bombshell on Nick when she told him about her affair, just after he had dragged a badly wounded Captain Ryan back through the anomaly, what she didn’t realise was that Steven had told him before she had even disappeared. Steven had been a very impressionable undergrad, and hadn't known she was married, as soon as he figured it out he had ended it, gone to Nick, hat in hand, and apologised, explaining everything. Nick had been mad, at Helen. Steven should have known better than to have a relationship with a professor, but she was married. After her disappearance they had gotten to know each other and become fast friends, by the time she came back they had been living together for five years and were inseparable. It had taken a few harsh looks and quiet words from Nick to get Abby to back off about the situation, especially after what Steven had said while hallucinating on his way to the ambulance not long before Helens little tantrum. Steven had even had a laugh at Nick's expense when he felt he had to explain about the now missing Claudia and her surprise kiss. Nick was just glad he hadn't had to try and convince everyone of the two young men's identities. He turned to Merlin.

"Well, that saved an awkward conversation."

Merlin just looked at him for a moment.

"Why?"  
"When I said we would all have to talk after sorting out yer wee beastie, I meant about who you were. Everything you said was pointing in this direction but I wanted it confirmed before I said anything."  
"How do you know us?"  
"Everyone knows of you lad! King Arthur and Merlin, the legend that created the foundations of Great Britain. Thousands if not millions of tales of you and the Knights of the Round Table have been told. Like yer beastie said, yer Legacy still holds now."

Merlin looked surprised for a while, then nodded.

"Arthur is a good king, he should be remembered. The knights were all loyal and true, they would have followed Gwen after we left. She'll be heartbroken, but she will be a good Queen none the less. I can't believe she was pregnant, but I am glad his line didn’t die when we left."  
"Yeah, but you're a sorcerer! How cool…"

Merlin swung around sharply and glared at Conner.

"Foolish lies! Do not speak of which you do not understand! I am King Arthur's manservant and personal physician, no more nor less."  
"But all the legends say you were his… OW!"

Abby took her foot back off of Connor's and glared, hissing at him.

"Shut up!"

Nick looked between them for a moment before shaking his head, he walked up to Merlin and put a careful hand on his shoulder.

"Come on Lad, come with me, we can go and see how Arthur is doing."

Merlin glared around at the others for a moment. He had only just told Arthur about his sorcery and it had not gone down well. He had forgiven him in the end but Merlin wasn’t sure if he would remember that, or any of it, but he wouldn’t chance what little respect Arthur had for him by letting anyone else bring up his sorcery if he didn’t remember. He looked to Nick and nodded sharply before stalking back down the corridor toward Arthur. Nick knew Abby would look after Connor so he carried on to the infirmary. It was less than half an hour since they had left Arthur going into surgery so he was sure he wouldn’t be out yet, but it was a good opportunity to get the lad alone. 

"Don’t be too hard on Connor, he means no harm. All of the legends say you were the greatest sorcerer to ever live, you bought magic back to Camelot, you and Arthur."  
"No, it's still a death sentence. He just found out, and he tried to send me away, even while he was dying, he tried to send me away. Because I lied to him, for so many years I had to lie to him. I couldn’t tell him, if Uther had found out I would have been killed, and if Arthur had known he would have been torn between protecting me and obeying his father and King. How could I do that to him?"  
"I'm sure you couldn’t. But you did protect him, and you got him here, where we could help him. I doubt it has been an easy time for you either, has it?"

Merlin dropped his head to his chest and started shaking. Nick couldn’t help it, he looked so young and so lost, he put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. Merlin couldn’t hold it in any longer, everything he had gone through over the years, but mostly the last few days, hit him. Loosing his magic, having to leave Arthur thinking he was a coward, not being at his side in that fateful battle, then finding him in what should have been his own moment of triumph. He had finally thought he could tell Arthur, that he would be proud of him, finally see how much he had done for him, even if he would never truly know why. He understood, he really did, he had lied the entire time they had know each other, had hidden his self from his best friend and King. Only he hadn't had a choice, certainly not while Uther was alive, and after, it was too late, it had been too long. Then Arthur reacted just as he had expected him to, though he had hoped, hoped so hard for better. It had taken two days and Merlin killing Morgana for Arthur to get it, to understand, and he had finally thanked him, but more importantly, he had asked him to hold him. In his final moments he hadn't called for Gwen, he had asked Merlin to hold him, and that broke his heart. The one thing he had never allowed his self to think about, to want, was being given to him freely, just as he was loosing him. He cried, and held on to the man he had just met as if his life depended on it. 

Nick was close to tears his self as the poor boy sobbed in his arms. He didn’t know what the lad had been through but it must have been hellish. He pulled him closer, wrapping both arms around him, holding him tight, not even realising he was rocking him gently. Steven appeared in the doorway quietly and just raised one eyebrow in query. Nick shock his head softly then nodded to the door, he was ok, and he didn’t think Merlin would respond well to an interruption right now. Steven nodded and backed away quietly, guarding the door so nobody could interrupt. Nick led Merlin to the bench and sat down with him, then let the boy cry his self out, running his fingers through his hair soothingly and muttering nonsense under his breath, just making sure he knew someone was there for him. Eventually the sobbing trailed off as Merlin's breathing evened out, and Nick realised he had fallen asleep. He shifted a little to get more comfortable and settled in for the long haul. 

About two hours later the CMO walked back in the room. Almost as soon as Nick had heard his footsteps Merlin woke up, shaking his self off as he stood. Nick stood with him as the doctor smiled at them.

"Well, it went well, better than we could have hoped for. It took us a while to fix all of the damage and he wont be up and around for a bit, but he should make a full recovery. Somehow the blade managed to miss anything important, made a god awful mess, but nothing irreparable. Give it a few months and you wont know the difference."  
"Where is he?"  
"He's in recovery at the moment. You can see him once he wakes up."  
"No. I will see him now, he will not be waking for a while yet."

The medic tried to argue but Merlin just walked right past him into the recovery room. Nick shook his head again and followed him. It was King Arthur and Merlin, what else were they supposed to do? When he got to the door he saw Merlin leant over Arthur's prone form, his hand hovering over the dressing that had recently been put on him. A medic touched his arm to try and move him away but Merlin flicked his hand and the man was pushed aside.

"You will leave me be, or you will leave. It is your choice. You have done what I could not, and you have my thanks beyond measure, now I will finish it. You will not interfere."  
"Out now, all of you, leave, and tell Steven where I am."  
"You would try to stop me?"  
"No lad, Steven will guard the door, just like he has been for the last few hours, he'll stop anyone else coming in."  
"Thank you."

Merlin hadn't looked away from Arthur once, and his hand still hovered over his wound. Then he started talking, only it was in no language Nick had ever heard, and he saw the reflection of his eyes glowing again in a stainless steal cabinet. The lad spoke the same string of words over and over again until he started to sag over the bed. Nick couldn’t ignore it any longer.

"Come now lad, you've done enough for now. Let me get you something to eat and drink, then you can come back ok?"  
"He's not healed yet, I can't stop."  
"I didn’t say stop lad, I said wait. You'll be needing a bed your self if you keep this up. I don’t pretend to know what you're doing or how, but it's draining you. You need to eat, have a drink, then you can start again, can ye do that for me lad?"

Nick didn’t think it was going to work for a moment, but then Merlin turned to look at him, before his head fell to his chest once more.

"I'm so tired."  
"Then let me help lad. Just sit with him for a moment, and let me help."

Nick didn’t know how or why but every protective instinct he didn’t realise he had was coming to the fore with this young man. He felt an undeniable need to look after him, protect him, even from his self. Merlin's shoulders slumped and he slid down into the chair next to the bed. Nick sighed in relief and quickly walked to the door. He poked his head out and found Steven, just as he had known he would. He smiled at his lover tiredly. 

"Any chance of a cupper? Some food would be great too."

Steven smiled at him and picked up a paper bag from the floor next to him.

"Thought you might need something, sent one of the lads for it earlier, I'll get the tea now."  
"God I love you! Have I told you that today?"  
"You have now!"

Steven leant forward and kissed him quickly before pulling back with a grin. Nick smiled back at him, leant forward for his own kiss, then shooed him off for tea. He opened the bag as he walked back to Merlin and found four packs of sandwiches and two bottles of water. He opened a bottle and handed it to Merlin, opening one of the sandwiches as he drank, then handed it to the young man. Merlin took it with a small but grateful smile and bit into it without even looking at what it was. Nick very much doubted if he tasted it at all. Just as he was finishing the first sandwich Steven knocked on the door and walked in with two steaming mugs of tea. He took a quick look at the three men as he handed Nick the tea, gave a small smile, nodded and walked straight back out, giving a broader smile over his shoulder as Nick thanked him.

"Thanks Love.  
"Welcome."

Though they weren't just talking about the drinks, they knew each other so well it was all they had to say, and Steven went back to guarding the door. Several people had tried to get in, both the infirmary while they were waiting there and the recovery room they were now in. One look from Steven had been all they needed to change their minds, though he had received a text from Lester asking him to stop terrorising his staff. He'd ignored it, though he would show it off to Nick later, it would make him laugh. He settled his self back in his chair and returned to his silent vigil. 

Nick smiled as Steven left and put the drinks on the small table by the bed after scolding his tongue on a sip. He pulled out the other water and downed the bottle trying to ease the burn, but he knew from experience it would be hurting for a long while yet, he really wished he would learn not to do that. Merlin looked up from his second sandwich at his grunt of pain and watched him drink the water before shaking his head as he realised what he had done.

"Stay still."

Nick looked up at Merlin, who was now right next to him, and stared wide eyed as he raised his hand across his mouth and repeated the words he had been saying over his King. Nick saw his eyes flash gold and a tingle washed through his head, starting at his lips and moving out. Not only was the burn gone but so was the headache that had been plaguing him for days now, and his shoulders felt more relaxed than they had since Steven last had the time and energy to give him a proper massage. He almost groaned at the relief.

"Wow, I think I'm keeping you!"

Merlin chuckled quietly and went back to his sandwich, but he did seem a little lighter than he had, so Nick counted it as a win. He started on his own sandwich as Merlin finished his second pack then turned back to continue his chanting over Arthur. The lad's dedication to his King was amazing, not that it wasn’t obvious it was more than mere fealty to a liege, but it was amazing to see. All the legends spoke of Merlin's undying loyalty to his King, but none of them mentioned he was head over heals in love with the man too. About an hour later Steven bought in fresh cups of tea, Merlin didn’t even glance at him and Nick knew it was a sign of trust from the young man. Not long after, Merlin slumped back into the chair and hung his head again.

"There is nothing more I can do. He is healed as much as I can. He'll hurt when he wakes up, he'll be unbearable."  
"You love it!"  
"What? What? No, no, no, no, no! No! Don’t, you can't, don’t say things like that!"  
"Merlin, sorry lad, it's just a phrase, just something people say, all the time. I know this is going to be difficult, but you really have to relax, maybe you should spend time listening to Connor and Abby, if you can understand those two you can translate for me, but it would get you used to the way people speak, both of you."  
"You can't say that, not in front of Arthur, please, I don’t know what he remembers, he has to heal before…, he gets so angry when he hurts! He can't protect us properly when he hurts!"  
"Breath lad! Take a deep breath and calm down! The medic's have fixed him up, you have done all you can, now let us finish off. We have pain killers, tablets, like herbs to soften the pain."  
"Like willow bark tea?"  
"Yes lad, exactly, we call that Aspirin now, a tablet, or small pill. But they'll probably give him something a bit better than that, they usually do after surgery, mostly morphine, it's an opiate, from poppy's."  
"Gaius heard of that, he tried it with Gwaine after a battle. He didn’t hurt but he went loopy, he was seeing things and giggling, we had to keep the others from seeing him, they never would have let him live it down."  
"Yes, too much will do that, some people use it for fun but it's addictive and generally very bad for you. You should never take any pills or powder from anyone but a doctor or medic. And if anyone offers you something in a needle to inject you get away as fast as you can and tell me immediately!"  
"Yes mother!"  
"Brat. I'm serious though, there's enough things in this world that can kill you, you don’t want to add to the risk by being stupid, or uninformed. If nobody tells you, you can't know."  
"You sound like Gaius, only not so old."  
"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you. Now, can I get a medic in here to check him and give him anything he needs, I dare say they'll want to give him some antibiotics at the least."  
"What are they?"  
"They kill the bugs that can infect you."  
"When the wound goes red and fever sets in?"  
"That's right, it's called an infection, it's caused by tiny wee bugs, too small to see, they get in your blood and make you sicker."  
"We have lost too many men to the fever after wounds, it kills more than the wounds them selves."  
"It always did until penicillin was found, that was the first antibiotic."  
"Gaius taught me to always keep the wound clean, alcohol worked well, and some herbs, we would pack deep wounds with a poultice of chickweed, burdock leaves and comfrey, it worked in many cases. Sometimes we were too late and I could only use magic if we were alone, it was an automatic death sentence when Uther was King. I couldn’t risk getting caught, I had to be there for Arthur. Kilgharrah told me it was my destiny, I had to keep him safe to become king. It was so hard, having to watch people suffer and die because I couldn’t risk saving them. But I did it, for so long I hid, all he ever saw at the beginning was a bumbling fool, even after I saved his life, the prat. He did respect me, mostly, he called me friend. Then I couldn’t go with him to Camlann, he called me a coward."

Nick couldn’t take much more of this, let alone Merlin who was almost in tears again.

"Come on lad, I'm sure there was a more than good reason, you just couldn’t explain, could you? If you had been able to explain he would have understood."  
"Ha! No, he would have had me hung! I couldn’t go with him because Morgana had taken my magic, I had to go to the Crystal Caves to get it back so I could help him. After everything I have done for him he still hates magic, still thinks it took his family from him. It isn't the magic that causes pain! It's the person using it!"  
"We have a saying here, 'Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.' I think it applies just as well to magic, or anything else. You can use a diner knife or even a fork to kill someone, it doesn’t mean the item is bad, just the person using it."  
"But Arthur can't see that, or couldn’t. At the end, just before I called Kilgharrah, he thanked me, he asked me to hold him, he didn’t call for Gwen or anyone else, just me! And I thought I had lost him. After everything, saving him over the years, defeating the Saxons, finally killing Morgana, he forgave me, and he thanked me, and now I don’t even know if he'll remember any of it."  
"Only he can tell you that lad, but if he doesn’t you can tell him again. It may be hard for a while, but now you can, and you should. You can't hide forever, especially not now, everyone here, now, knows. Something will be said eventually, it's best if you tell him your self before that happens, and explain why you didn’t tell him before, you can explain everything now. The rest is up to him."  
"But I can't loose him."

The lad sounded so small, so lost, nothing like the ferocious, demanding man that arrived on the back of a dragon.

"If he's half the man you've said he is, even a fraction of what the legends claim, he will see exactly what you have sacrificed for him, and he will recognise it. Don’t fret lad, he's still your Arthur."  
"And you are still my Merlin."

The weak voice from the bed might as well have been the Anomaly alarm for the instant affect it had on the two men. Merlin stood and leaned over him, hands raising to touch until he caught his self and pulled back. Arthur reached out with a hand and gently grasped his wrist, the grip was weak but it might as well have been a steal shackle for as much as Merlin could have resisted it.

"Arthur!"  
"Merlin, shut up, idiot. I ache, and I wont repeat myself. I remember, everything, you found me at Camlann, you kept me safe. I'm sorry I was so angry, but you lied to me. Everyone I care about has betrayed me. My father, Gwen, Morgana, Uncle, Mordred even Lancelot. And I thought you had too. It hurt, and it was hard to think, but I did, and so many things became obvious. You have always been there, right from the moment you first saved my life and father gave you to me. You have been mine since then, and I have been yours. You may have lied, but you never betrayed me. You and Gaius have always been loyal, but you have been right there, by my side, through everything. And you always will be, you were my trial Merlin, and my prize. I don’t know where we are, and I don’t care right now, I hurt. Make it stop."  
"Gods Arthur!"  
"Don’t talk! Make it go away! And that bloody irritating noise while you're at it."

The noise was a heart monitor, which Nick decided he didn’t really need, so he shut it off. In moments there was a loud commotion outside the door, an alarm somewhere had gone off to let the medics know something was very wrong. They were trying to save their patient and Steven was stopping them. Nick rushed to the door.

"Sorry! My fault! The noise was bothering him, so I turned it off."  
"You can't do that Cutter! The man has just gone through hours of surgery! I'm surprised he's even awake!"

Nick looked back through the door and winced.

"He probably shouldn’t be getting up then?"  
"WHAT? Get your mutt out of my way before I have him sedated and let me in there now! He's gonna rip open everything I just fixed!"  
"Oh, I doubt that, he looks fine. I'll ask if he doesn’t mind you coming in. And call Steven that again and I wont stop him."  
"Stop him what?"

Nick just grinned and looked over at Steven, who was glaring glacially at the medic and playing with his gun rather pointedly. The medic gulped loudly. Nick went back in the room to find Arthur complaining about the hospital gown he was in and Merlin grinning at him like a fool.

"Sorry to interrupt lads, but there's a testy medic out there that wants to check on you."

Nick didn’t have a clue how he should address Arthur so figured it was safest to just not. Arthur looked to Merlin for a translation with one brow raised.

"Their physician wants to check you."  
"You healed me?"  
"Yes, after they did something inside, to put everything back together, I couldn’t do it on my own."

Merlin had his head hanging again by the end of that and Arthur shook his head in exasperation.

"Then tell them to leave."  
"But they need to make sure you're ok."  
"You already did."

Arthur said it in such a matter-of-fact way that Nick couldn’t help grinning at the pair. Merlin wasn’t so amused.

"Arthur! They had to save you! I couldn’t! After everything I still couldn’t save you!"  
"So you bought me here."  
"Kilgharrah did."  
"Who?"  
"The Great Dragon, I'm the last Dragon Lord, that was how I got him to stop attacking Camelot."  
"We will have words, later."  
"Sharp pointy ones?"  
"Possibly. But you got me here."  
"Kilg…"  
"You control the dragon, you got me here. You saved me. You let them help, so you saved me. Then you fixed the rest that they couldn’t. You saved me. You have checked I am ok, probably in the last ten minutes, therefore I am ok. They are not needed. Send. Them. Away."

Merlin was stunned speechless for a moment before he broke out in a huge smile.

"You trust me!"  
"Of course I do you simpleton! I've let you stick around this long haven't I?"  
"Yeah, but, you know! And you trust me!"  
"Idiot."  
"But you still trust me! He trusts me!"

Merlin spun around to grin at a chuckling Nick, he couldn’t help it, then he threw his arms around the older mans neck and hugged him tight, bouncing in place, repeating his self.

"He trusts me, he trusts me!"

Arthur watched for a moment before he started to scowl, this man was entirely to happy to be hugged buy 'his' Merlin.

"That's enough, idiot. Where are my clothes? And why are you wearing my sword?"  
"They had to cut your clothes off, your armour is in the armoury, first time for everything, and the last one I don’t know."

Nick grinned at Arthur as Merlin finally let him go. Arthur did not grin back, in fact he looked down right pissed. Before ignoring him with a 'royally' condescending sneer.

"I spoke 'Merlin'!"  
"Oh don’t get your knickers in a bunch! And don’t be so rude. Nick has been great, and Steven, he's outside keeping everyone else out for us."  
"I'm sure he has. Why are you wearing my sword? Give it back."  
"You weren’t in much condition to be wearing it when we got here and I thought you'd kill me if I lost it, or let anyone else touch it."  
"You were right. Now hand it over."  
"Are you sure, you don’t ache too much?"

Merlin had a grin on his face again by now. He wasn’t as stupid as most assumed, he knew jealousy when he heard it, he just didn’t know why Arthur was jealous. Nick did, he had seen Steven act exactly the same a million times, he often joked he should just piss on him to mark his territory, it would be easier. He also knew two things Arthur didn’t, well probably thousands actually but two important things. One, Merlin only had eyes, or room in his heart, for Arthur, ever, end of. Two, Nick only had eyes, or room in his heart, for Steven, ever, end of. To get at least one of those points across, he opened the door and glared at everyone waiting outside.

"Don’t even bother thinking about it, just get him some pain meds. Steven, a minute please."

Steven smirked at the medics completely irrational ire and sauntered past them and in through the door, being sure to turn and grin at them before he closed it loudly. They heard a yell through the door.

"If he dies it's your fault! And you get to explain it to Lester!"

They both chuckled at that, like they cared, they lived to wind Lester up, and walked back to the others. 

"What can I do for you love?"

Steven really was perfect, he always knew exactly what to say.

"I thought introductions would be better started slow love, as you were here."  
"As I was here? I should hope so, I've been guarding your door for the last five hours or so, and I didn’t even have you to look at."

Nick had to snort in amusement at that, Steven was such a flirt, he never stopped. Merlin stared at them in shock and Arthur sputtered something about propriety. 

"Behave. Steven, I would like to formally introduce you to King Arthur Pendragon, and Merlin of Camelot, King Arthur, Merlin, Steven Hart, my best friend, bodyguard and lover."  
"And he tells me to behave!"

Steven muttered as Merlin went bright red, eyes so wide he thought they might fall out any moment, and Arthur coughed tightly before drawing his self up to his full height, shoulders back and head up, as would befit a king, then nodded regally. 

"You have our thanks for guarding us Hart."  
"You're welcome, nice to meet you both. You want me to get the mob love?"

Arthur and Merlin were still stunned with the easy and open familiarity between the two. Neither could believe they had openly admitted to being lovers, oh they both knew that many of the knight's found comfort together, Percival and Elyan had been together for years and all the knights knew, but it wasn’t spoken of, just like Gwaine's dalliances with anyone that let him pin them down. 

"I think I have to try and persuade our King to take something for the pain first, I don’t want him going through more than he has to, and we haven't explained everything to him, or Merlin yet. You could stay if you want."  
"I wouldn’t want to intrude on your fun, but if you want."

Nick shot him a half hearted glare for that, he would think it was funny to leave him with this kind of explanation. Maybe they could just leave it to Lester? He was the political one after all? But that wouldn’t be fair on Merlin or Arthur. There was a polite knock on the door and Nick looked at Steven, who nodded and went to investigate. He came back moments later with a huge bag of sandwiches, a carrier of water bottles and a small bottle of tablets. Then he spoke.

"Does anyone else think this would be easier with seats? We could go to the conference room."

Nick thought it was a great idea, Arthur wasn’t so pleased.

"No."  
"Why not?"

Merlin asked him. Arthur glared for a moment before crossing his arms defensively over his chest.

"I am not going anywhere in this!" 

Merlin looked down Arthur, over the green almost papery gown to his bare knees and feet. He actually quite appreciated the view, but he did understand.

"Right, not really appropriate. I think we'll have to borrow something."  
"I'm not wearing cast-off's!"  
"Arthur! Someone here will have to be kind enough to lend you something to wear! Don’t be a prat! You are so rude!"  
"ME!?! What about you? You're the most insubordinate subordinate in the history of the world!"  
"I'm not the one being ungrateful! You barely even managed a thanks to Steven! And you were unconscionably rude to Nick!"  
"He was touching you!"  
"What?"

The conversation had been getting pretty heated until Arthur's last statement, then Merlin's question was in a small almost fragile voice, Arthur didn’t seem to notice. Nick and Steven grinned at each other and barely stifled the sniggers, this could only be improved with popcorn!

"He had his hands all over you!"  
"It was just a hug Arthur, I was happy, you may have noticed I do that, when people let me."  
"Well, it's not proper! He has no right to touch what's mine! People always touching! 'Hugging'! should keep their hands to their selves! And where are my clothes!?!"  
"Ruined. You'll have to borrow some, not cast-offs! Borrowed! Like when you let me borrow your night shirt."  
"Well, that's different, that was you! I'm not wearing someone else's clothes!"  
"Fine! Then you can wear mine!"

Merlin was touched by the sentiment, he really was, but Arthur was such a trial when he was in pain! He pulled his neck scarf off and tugged his shirt out of his trousers before Arthur's hands stopped him.

"What are you doing? You can't take that off!"  
"What now? You can wear my stuff and I'll borrow something, I'm not that fussy."  
"I know, that's why you let near strangers touch you! That's not the point! You are not taking that off while those two stand around and watch!"  
"Oh for the love of… Really? I'm pretty certain neither one of them is interested in anyone but each other!"  
"Shows what you know! People are always watching you! And touching!"  
"Arthur! Just stop it! I know it hurts but you can't go on like this!"  
"I am your King and I can go on any way I like! They are not standing there looking at what's mine!"

Steven couldn’t help it any longer, and as soon as he started laughing, Nick lost it. They were both bent almost double, tears streaming down their faces, clutching their aching sides as they laughed more than they had in years. Of course, they stopped rather suddenly when they heard a sword being pulled from it's scabbard. They both held their breath and looked up at a furious King, and a worried Merlin until Steven lost it again.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It's just you're so cute! You're adorable! It's so obvious you're gone for each other! You bicker like we do, it's great! God, do we sound like that love?"  
"Probably Steven, but I don’t think the man with the sharp pointy thing is amused."  
"Oh, I am so sorry! You're just too much! I'm going for some clothes, you can borrow mine, so adorable!"

And with that, still laughing merrily, Steven sauntered out the door, but only after grabbing Nick and laying a hard, filthy kiss right on his lips. Nick stared after him for a moment before sighing with a slightly dopey smile on his face.

"God I love that man, but he has no sense of self-preservation."

Merlin looked like he wasn’t quite sure if he was going to laugh or cry. Arthur still looked pissed but was so shocked by the kiss that he just stood there for a while. Nick cleared his throat.

"Merlin is right, not that you're not both handsome lads, but you're practically kids, no matter who you are or what you've done you can't be twenty five yet."  
"I'm twenty six, actually."  
"Twenty four."  
"Exactly, and do you really think I have time for even thinking about anyone else with Steven around? And why would I want to?"  
"True, a cambion can't be easy to keep up with, once they're actually, you know, active."  
"Active?"  
"Cambion?"

Arthur and Nick spoke at the same time.

"Well, yeah, a cambion's, urges, are a lot stronger than most once they start, it comes from the incubus line, but that's mostly the only effect the line has, it just enhances natural talent and leaves them practically immortal."  
"What do you mean Merlin?"

Merlin looked at Nick then to Arthur, confused.

"Exactly what I said."  
"Yes Merlin, I think the man would like a little more information, he obviously doesn’t know what an incubus is!"  
"Oh! Right! Sorry! Um, an incubus is a magical creature, it takes on the form of a man and breeds with a human woman. They aren't dangerous, or malevolent, they just want a chance to breed like any other species. Apparently my father's father was an incubus, just like Steven's father."  
"Pardon?"  
"What?"  
"I don’t think he knew that Merlin."  
"Really? Why not?"  
"Probably because he's never heard of an incubus before, idiot!"  
"Oh! I wonder if Steven knows?"  
"Knows what?"

Steven walked in with a pile of clothes for Merlin and a smile still on his face. It fell as he took in the shock on Nicks face.

"What's wrong?"  
"Did you know your dad love?"  
"No, why?"  
"Um, well, did your mum say much about him?"  
"No, just that she never saw him again, why?"  
"Um."  
"Nick, you're starting to worry me love. Talk to me."  
"Well, Merlin kind of knows things we don’t right?"  
"Right."  
"Right, so, well."  
"Oh for pity's sake man! Your father was an incubus Hart, you are a cambion. Hey, was Gwaine? That would explain so much."  
"No, he was just easy."  
"Right."  
"Excuse me! What do you mean, cambion, incubus?"  
"An incubus is a fey creature, it takes on the form of a man and breeds with a human woman, the child is a cambion. They aren't dangerous, or malevolent or anything. It's not like you'd ever know the difference really, it just enhances your natural talent and makes your, urges, stronger. Of course, you'd have a job saying no to anyone persistent, even I had trouble with Gwaine and I'm second generation and haven't done anything yet!"  
"Really?"  
"Damn."

Merlin dropped his head and sighed deeply as Arthur looked at him speculatively. 

"So, nothing?"  
"Nothing."

Merlin was resigned, bracing his self for the teasing, it would be merciless, a twenty four year old virgin, hadn't tried anything, he would die, or kill Arthur, one or the other.

"Good."

The dark satisfaction in Arthur's voice was not at all what he expected.

"Huh?"  
"I told you, you are mine. Obviously it is appropriate here, if these two are anything to go by. I am no longer beholden to the throne to produce an heir, I am free to choose. And you will not refuse me."  
"Sweet as that proposal was, not! Can we get back to the 'creature' part!?!"  
"Steven, love, it makes no difference."  
"Of course it does! I've lived nine years with the guilt of giving in to Helen! And you're telling me it wasn’t my fault! nine bloody years!"

Steven really couldn’t decide weather to laugh with relief or cry bitterly. He had spent most of the last nine years eaten up inside with the guilt of giving in, of letting her take advantage of him and of unknowingly betraying a man as good as Nick. He still had days he couldn’t believe his luck. It was no wonder Nick had trouble keeping up with him. Though Steven had never known any different he now knew why Nick was always making jokes about getting too old for him, it also made him wonder if Nick was being a little serious when he joked about Steven wanting to swap him for a younger model, they would have to talk about that, soon. Right now, he supposed they had more important things to worry about.

"Right, you and me, out there, let these two get dressed. Then we can go eat in the conference room and try to get these two up to speed. God knows how. Come on love."

Steven grabbed Nick's hand and practically dragged him out the door. Nick went with him willingly, a moment alone couldn’t hurt either couple right now. When they stepped out the door only one medic was waiting.

"Boss said to tell you he's giving his report to Lester, who also wants a report from you. He also said, and I quote, 'pull this shit again and I'll have you both in for yearly exams, daily!' unquote."  
"You enjoyed that didn’t you?"  
"You'd be disappointed in me if I hadn't."  
"True, see ya mate."  
"Cheers."

And he left. Steven was still grinning like a loon until he turned back to Nick. His face went dead serious for a moment, then he gently cupped Nicks face between his hands and kissed him gently. It didn’t stay that way. It wasn’t long before they were claiming each other almost desperately, conversations taking place and being dismissed all without a word necessary. Nick thanked god, again, for having this man, for knowing he was his and his alone. They were eventually interrupted when the door opened and the other two men stared at them. Arthur was now wearing Merlin's shirt and trousers and Merlin was wearing a pair of Stevens tight jeans and a formfitting t-shirt, neither looked comfortable for many reasons.

"Are you always like this? I really can't see how you can do your job, whatever that may be, if you are constantly, cavorting!"  
"Cavorting? First time I've heard it called that!"  
"Steven! Behave. No, we're not normally like this at work, but it's been a strange day, to say the least."

Steven snorted.

"And a little bit of reassurance goes a long way in a relationship, especially after what we've just learnt."  
"Shall we go, Lester wont leave us alone forever, and I'm frankly stunned Abby has kept Connor away for this long! If they catch us in a corridor we'll never get away."

Nick grinned at him, but he did agree, so he headed for the conference room. It didn’t take them long to get there, though they seemed to walk past an extraordinary number of staff who just happened to be hanging around in corridors. Once they were safely behind locked doors again Nick sighed in relief.

"I thought we'd never make it! Right, food!"

Steven put out the sandwiches and bottles of water while Nick went straight for the table at the back of the room with a kettle. He made a pot and put cups on the tray along with sugar and milk, filled the cups once the tea had steeped then refilled the pot and took it all to the table. He passed Arthur and Merlin their cups before putting a little milk in his cup, and milk and one sugar in Steven's before handing it over. Steven smiled his thanks and handed him a sandwich, pushing his water towards him.

"Let it cool!"

Steven muttered just as he picked his cup up to drink it. He grinned sheepishly and put it back down, before he burnt his self again. Merlin made sure Arthur was seated and had his sandwich before he sat down. As soon as Nick bought the tea he stood and poured a little milk into each of their cups and sat back down again, watching curiously as Nick added Steven's sugar. 

"You said not to take tablets, powders or injections from anyone but a physician, what is that?"  
"That, is sugar, not drugs."  
"Sugar? It looks like no sugar I ever saw!"  
"Well, it's what we're used to now, it's refined, cleaned up to take anything bad out."

Arthur looked curiously at the bowl then nodded to Merlin. Merlin picked up the bowl and added a spoon full to Arthur's tea and stirred, just like Nick had. Nick and Steven shared a look, they really didn’t appreciate the way Arthur had Merlin do everything for him but accepted that that was the way they were, the way it had been in their time, whenever that actually was. Arthur took his tea and blew on it for a moment before taking a cautious sip. He grimaced and handed it over to Merlin.

"Ugh! No, I don’t think so! Thank you, but no. Try."

Merlin grinned at him and tried it, smiling as he took in the flavour.

"I like it, thank you."  
"Good, I'll have yours."

Arthur took Merlin's cup and started blowing on that as he looked warily at the sandwich in front of him. Merlin smiled again, he seemed to do that a lot now Arthur was back on his feet.

"Try them, I had some earlier, they're different, but good, you just pick it up with your fingers. The meat ones aren't salty, and the cheese tastes strange but it's still good. They call it a 'sandwich'."

Arthur grunted and picked one up, taking a tentative bite and chewing thoroughly, a pleasantly surprised look on his face.

"This is good! Much better than the bread in Camelot, and ours was the best in the Five Kingdoms. You may get these again."

Nick and Steven shared a look at the casual arrogance, though again, it wasn’t surprising, the man was a King, his attitude would take some getting used to though.

"Sorry, I have tried to train him, you should have met him when I first did! A complete prat!"  
"Excuse me?"  
"Sorry, royal prat."  
"Better."  
"He was spoilt as a child, only legitimate heir of the king. Brat."  
"Captain of the Guard, protector and Champion of Camelot, King. And I united the Five Kingdoms, not bad for a brat."  
"Of course Sire!"

The sarcasm practically dripped off Merlin's tongue as he spoke, Arthur just grinned at him. Nick and Steven shared a smile, there was hope for them yet. Steven remembered the bottle of tablets he had put in his pocket earlier and pulled them out.

"Here, you can take two now, just swallow them, don’t chew."

Merlin looked at the tablets warily for a long while before he took the bottle and tried to open the lid. After it had turned several times with nothing more than an irritating clicking to show for it he looked up to Nick. Nick grinned.

"It's a child safe cap, so the wee ones can't take them accidentally. You have to push down and turn at the same time."

Merlin nodded and soon had the cap off, handing two to Arthur.

"You can have these, because they came from the physician, but Nick told me earlier, some people take medicines for fun, so if anyone offers you anything, especially something called an injection, they are not to be trusted."  
"Sorry lad, I didn’t think. An injection is where you use a small hollow needle to push liquids directly into your blood stream."

Arthur nodded and took the pills, dry swallowing them with a grimace.

"Not as bad as some of Gaius' cures. How long will it take for them to work? And how long before they wear off and I can take more?"

To be fair, neither Nick nor Steven had thought the man would think about it enough to ask questions like that, had assumed he would leave it to Merlin. Obviously he wasn’t as completely reliant on the younger man as he appeared. 

"You can take two every four hours, how long they last depends on the person so we just have to wait and see, and you might want to wait as long as you can between taking them so you don’t start relying on them. It's best just to see if you need them, not take them because you can."  
"Gaius always said the same. So when and where are we, exactly?"

Nick and Steven shared a look.

"Right. It's June third, 2008 AD, and you're in London, England. This is the ARC, the Anomaly Research Centre, we investigate the Anomalies, like the one you came here through."

Arthur looked to Merlin for confirmation and a little expansion on that. Merlin looked at the table and spoke quietly.

"You were dying, I didn’t know what else to do. I tried to get you to Avalon, but Morgana found us. After that it was too late, I didn’t have time, so I called Kilgharrah. He said nothing could save you, not at home, our only chance was to bring you here. He made a portal, or something, it looked like a shattered mirror floating in the air, then it passed around us and we were here, in a big room, surrounded by people, and they just stood there, talking!"  
"Your young man has quiet the set of lungs on him, he shut everyone up and demanded we help you. So I took the two of you to the infirmary and they took you in for surgery. I had to drag him away to deal with the dragon he bought you here on, then he near gave us all heart failure when he spoke to the dragon and it answered. Then the dragon spat out an Anomaly and disappeared through it. Then we came back to you and Merlin spent a couple of hours fixing you up after they finished surgery, the rest you know."

Merlin looked at Nick gratefully as he started talking but looked more than a little embarrassed by the time he had finished. Arthur was nodding as if this was exactly what he had expected to hear, though he must have been shocked by some of it, he hid it well.

"2008, and what is AD?"  
"Anno Domini, it's Latin for…"  
"The year of our Lord, I know Latin, and many other languages. The question is what Lord? Who is he and what or where is he Lord of?"  
"Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply anything, not many people now know Latin. The Lord is Jesus Christ, according to Christian belief, as written in the Bible, he was the son of God, or Jehovah. I don’t know if you've heard of any of those."  
"Father had. In the last few months of his life he started trying to follow the ways of this 'bible', he tried to ban all the old traditions, said everyone had to follow the new god and ignore the old ways. He had already tried to destroy the Old Religion, so it wasn’t much of a surprise, but it turned many of our people against him. I tried to get him to compromise but he was adamant that the new God was jealous and had to be obeyed to the letter of the book. You understand my father was very ill at the end of his life. He would never have made such questionable decisions had he not been. I was crowned King not long after. He may not have always been right but my father did everything for the good of Camelot."  
"Many people, good people, have made questionable decisions. It doesn’t make them bad people or negate the good they did. We don't always see things as they are, or as they were in the case of history. Many people now make the mistake of judging history with today's morals and knowledge, instead of realising that everything was a lot different. People in your time could be condemned for letting people die of infections, by today's standards, but you didn’t have the knowledge, or the means, to save those people. In the same way, you could look at us and question a lot of things we do, but until you know what we know you can't make an informed opinion."

Arthur nodded solemnly at that, he understood the necessity of good information and informed opinions.

"We will have to learn much, it appears we are about 2000 years out of date. Your medicine is much appreciated, I no longer feel the pain but I can still think properly, your help and understanding is also greatly appreciated. I apologise for my earlier behaviour, I give no excuses, it was poorly done of me. I don’t know how things are done now, but in Camelot I would expect strangers such as our selves to be presented to me as soon as was possible. Is your Liege near? Do we need to be presented?"

Nick wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry more. Arthur was so formal and solemn, and Merlin was sat dutifully at his side, proud of his King but both of them were obviously out of their depth, their situation finally dawning on them. They were strangers in a strange land and knew nothing of their surroundings, everything was strange to them.

"I'm not really sure where to start. The United Kingdom, which is the whole of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are ruled by the Queen, Elizabeth the second, but Parliament really runs things through Government, lead by the Prime Minister, who gets elected by the people every four years. At the moment, I think the only person you really have to worry about is our Lester, he works for the Government, he'll sort out anything official you need to do. To be fair, I think everyone is going to be as confused as you are! Most of the world, but especially the UK, has grown up knowing about Arthur Pendragon, The Once and Future King, and Merlin, the Sorcerer who kept him alive to unite Briton, the men who united a country and brought magic back from the brink of extinction. I have to warn you now, opinions of your father, King Uther Pendragon, are not high, he is portrayed as an angry, bitter and vengeful tyrant. As I said, people see things very differently now! The idea of killing someone for committing a crime, even religion being a crime, is against everything we stand for. I'm not saying that things like that don’t happen, because they do, people are still killed for their religion, sexual orientation and the colour of their skin, but it is not acceptable, especially in a leader. People are put in prison for committing crimes, not killed, not here. Capital Punishment is something most civilised people fight against. I'm not trying to say we are perfect, we're far from it, and I dare say there were many things in your time that were run better or done better, but most people will only think about the fact that your father killed hundreds if not thousands of men women and children in the name of religion, which is something we fight against every day. I just don’t want you to be surprised if people don’t remember the good your father did. Most people also think magic is a myth, a fairy tale, we didn’t know it was real until you turned up and Merlin performed magic in front of us. To be fair, many think you are a myth too, and the stories of you are many and varied."

Arthur had to take several deep breaths and remember everything he had learnt about diplomacy when Nick started talking about his father, but he did understand. He didn’t agree with many of the things his father had done, had agreed with him for a long time about magic, until he had been taught better by Merlin, and that had nearly taken his death. So yes, he understood, he still didn’t like anyone speaking badly of his father, and if they had been at home he probably would have challenged him over it, but they weren't at home, they were very far from home and everything they had ever known. If Merlin weren't here with him he thought he might just break down into a gibbering wreck, but he couldn’t, he had to stay strong for Merlin, protect him and make sure he was happy, no matter where they were or what anyone else thought. He had seen the looks between Nick and Steven, he knew they thought little of the way he treated Merlin, but both of them needed something to cling to right now and a formal structure they were both used to around foreign dignitaries would work for the time being. They were so far out of their depth it was painful to even consider it, they were stuck in this future they knew nothing of, while all around them knew, or thought they did, everything about them. Everyone had a preconceived idea of who and what they were and how they should act. He wondered who was in for the greater surprise, him and Merlin or everyone else. 

"Very well. With your leave, we will present our selves to your 'Lester', we would appreciate it if you could perform the introductions for us, as you know the man and our situation."  
"We will, gladly, but it can wait a while longer, we can finish our food, it will give the tablets time to really kick in properly."  
"Thank you. It is uncomfortable enough having to be introduced dressed as we are, without being hungry as well."

Nick and Steven shared a look at that.

"What would you normally wear?"  
"For an introduction to a foreign leader of a peaceful nature I would be wearing clean formal trousers, a proper shirt and coat, and my Knights would be with me. At home I could make Merlin wear his hat!"

Merlin groaned but the comment had lightened both of the young men's moods.

"You only make me wear that ridiculous outfit to humiliate me! I'm sure you made it all up!"  
"Don’t be ridiculous! Father had those outfits designed to make simpletons like you look at least a little dignified!"  
"Dignified? Are you kidding? I look like a total prat!"  
"It's hardly my fault you have less dignity than the average simpleton."  
"Simpleton! Ooh! You are such a prat! And to think I let you borrow my clothes! Next time I'll get you something out of the rag pile!"  
"Like the last time? Trousers barely covering my knees and top ten times too small? At least you're covered decently!"  
"Well, to be fair, you pulled it off ok, you looked a bit silly at first but as soon as you started fighting, Tristan and Isolde took you pretty seriously. Not all of it was so bad."

Merlin had a sly little grin on his face and was trying to hide it, but failed miserably, he also couldn’t hide the small flair of interest as he thought of his kings bare midriff, shown off to perfection by the trousers that barely covered his hips and top that barely covered his ribs, it certainly wasn’t all bad from Merlin's point of view. Arthur looked at him incredulously for a moment, then noticed the flair of remembered interest and realised exactly what his friend was thinking about, he hid a smug grin before Merlin could notice it, but not before Nick and Steven did. The two older men shared another knowing look and grinned to each other, these two would work out just fine. 

"Not all bad huh? We can discus that later. To be honest, I feel half naked being outside of my rooms without my chain-mail and cloak."  
"Lots of red! Formal attire for a meeting of state would be the heavy red suede jacket, high laced boots, formal trousers and the light weight formal cloak. If a military leader was involved he would wear his light chain-mail as a sign of respect for their strength. The light red shirt and heavy chain-mail with riding trousers and boots, red tunic and heavy cloak when he leaves the castle, unless he is going into obvious danger then I get his full armour on him, and he meets no body else without his sword."  
"Weapons are not…"  
"He meets NO ONE without his sword! He is King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot and the Five Kingdoms! That may not mean much to you, but it is everything to me!"

Nick and Steven shared another look, this could be awkward, very awkward. Then Steven started thinking tactically and considering what he had just been told.

"Not a problem! When a military leader comes to meet you, you would stand with your Knights, and you would expect him to be armed and have an entourage right? We can work with that. You keep your sword, Lester will be armed and backed by his Knights. Why don’t you lot finish eating and I'll go arrange every thing, I'll call you when we're ready Love, eat up, and don’t forget your tea."

With that Steven got up, kissed Nick on the head and left the room. Nick shook his head for a moment at his lovers antics and wondered how he was going to talk Lester into going along with it, then he considered that Arthur would be armed with a 'sword' and realised it wouldn’t be a problem. They sat quietly and finished eating together, once they were done Nick made a fresh pot of tea, Merlin quietly warning him not to burn his self again. 

"So, what do you usually do for fun at home?"  
"Spar."  
"Read."  
"Read? Then why do you spend so much time in the Tavern? Oh, I see! That was just Gaius covering for you when you were doing something you shouldn’t have been, or at least that I couldn’t know about. You really are a sneaky little brat!"  
"I couldn't put you in that position, everyone knew the laws, my mother still sent me to Gaius. By the time I knew you, knew I could trust you, I couldn’t make you chose."  
"I know Merlin, I know."

Merlin kept his head down and looked up into Arthur's eyes from beneath his lashes. Arthur looked into those clear blue eyes he knew so well and realised that there really was nothing stopping him any more, no reason to hold back or keep him at arms length any longer. He smiled, like he had wanted to a thousand times before but could never risk, could never take the chance that Merlin or anyone else would find out just how important, how necessary, Merlin was to him, but it didn’t matter any more. He knew it wouldn’t be easy to break the habit, it had been ingrained for so long now, but he could, and he would, he would finally show Merlin exactly what he meant to him, he just needed a little privacy.  
Merlin looked up into Arthur's eyes and for a split second they were their usual cold, slate blue, then Arthur smiled, it was like the sun had come out and thawed the winter ground, revealing warm, welcoming life he had only seen so very rarely, and coveted all the more because of it. He smiled back, bright and just as welcoming, his head rising as he basked in the warmth of this mans regard. Right now, he couldn’t help thinking getting stranded in this strange and foreign land was the best thing that had ever happened to him. 

Nick watched the two young men and wished he could get them some privacy for a few hours, let them get their bearings at least, but it wasn’t possible at the moment, so he just sat very quietly and inspected his mug of tea. It wasn’t much longer before there was a knock at the door and Steven walked back in to find them all thinking quietly. He smiled at each of them and raised his bounty to show off.

"Ta da! Not exactly what you're used to but the best I could come up with at short notice, I figure you're both about the same size as me so I hope it all fits."

Merlin looked at the bags Steven was holding out to them and raised an eyebrow questioningly, not having a clue why they would want the strange material or how it would fit them.

"Um, thank you?"

Steven laughed at him, though not unkindly.

"Not the bags, the clothes inside! Why don’t you try them on, we'll wait outside for you."

With that Steven upended the bags onto the table and then grabbed Nick's arm, dragging him out of the room. Merlin looked from the clothes to Arthur and back again before shrugging and getting up, looking through the clothes and deciding what would do for Arthur. Arthur watched Merlin with a smile, he could always depend on him to make the best of a situation. 

"Come on, stand up and let me get you dressed, we shouldn’t make them wait too long."

Arthur quietly did as he was asked, pleasantly surprised that he only had a slight twinge in his side to show for his nearly fatal wound. He stood quiet and still, letting Merlin move him as he wished as they went about the well known routine of getting him undressed, feeling the slight shiver of anticipation he was well used to suppressing as he got to his trousers. Merlin knelt before him as he usually did but there was an air of anticipation to the room, they both knew this was different, even from when Merlin had dressed Arthur in his own clothes, because they both now knew the other was interested and it could go somewhere. Merlin gently peeled the thin trousers off his King and sighed as he looked at the man before him. Arthur raised his hand from Merlin's shoulder where he had been steadying his self and ran his fingers thorough his hair, gently pushing it back from his face and tipping his head back so he could look down into his eyes.

"When I find somewhere safe, you and I will be having a long discussion, right after we wake up, because first I am going to lay you down and do everything I have been wanting to do since the day I first heard your impertinent voice and saw your crazy face. Do you understand me Merlin?"  
"Yes my King."  
"Good. We should work on these clothes before it becomes impossible to get my trousers on, because having you on your knees has always been hard on my self control, but right now it is almost impossible and we have a 'Lester' to be presented to. From what I gather you have already made an impression on these people so let's get on and finish the job. 2000 years or not, I am still King Arthur, and you are my Merlin, so let's make sure they never forget us, shall we?"

Merlin smiled up at his King and couldn’t have hidden his adoration if he had tried, not that he did, he just nodded around the lump in his throat and stood to collect the clothes he had chosen. The under garments were a little small and tight compared to what Arthur was used to but they were comfortable once on, the black trousers were similar to his formal trousers but of a much softer material, though they seemed sturdy enough and did up with buttons. There was a deep red shirt in thick, soft suede that felt wonderful against his skin and Merlin had a job keeping his hands off it. There was a black leather vest that fit over the shirt beautifully with bright silver buttons that shone as the light caught them, and the outfit was finished with a pair of knee high black leather boots with buckles up the sides that clung like a second skin to his legs and shone brighter than his armour had since it was new. Merlin stepped back once he had finished tightening the last buckle and took in the whole picture. 

"Entirely suitable my King."

Arthur gave him a slightly smug grin and nodded towards the rest of the clothes, encouraging Merlin to get changed too. Merlin grinned as he stripped his borrowed clothes off, having to think for a moment about the zipper but getting it done quick enough. Once he was stripped he picked up the second pair of trousers, they were almost the same as Arthur's but a dark brown, and bent over to pull them on. As he got them half way up he realised he was being watched and looked over to Arthur and blushed as he saw the hungry look in his Kings eyes. Shivering at the sudden wave of lust that swept his body he hurried to get the trousers done up before it became impossible, Arthur chuckling quietly at his rush, knowing exactly what he was doing to him. Merlin huffed as he tried to get his body under control and fumbled his under-shirt as he tried to pick it up. Arthur's hand came around from behind him and picked it up off the table.

"Allow me."

Merlin turned sharply and shivered again at how close Arthur was, then realised what he intended to do and shook his head a little frantically. 

"No, no, no. I can do it, I'm fine, fine."  
"Merlin, would you deny your King?"  
"No! No, never!"  
"Then hush. You have looked after me for years, let me return the favour for just this once, allow me that privilege."

Merlin had no defence against that, Arthur was gazing steadily into his eyes, his face soft and warm, speaking gently but firmly and it mowed over every defence he had, not that he had many when it came to Arthur. He nodded slowly, unable to form any words, and allowed his King to do as he wished. Arthur smiled at him, that bright, crooked smile he would do anything for and gently pulled the soft, deep red top over his head, encouraging him to put his arms through and then smoothed it down over his chest and tucked it carefully into his trousers. Merlin barely breathed from the moment he first touched him and briefly wondered how long he could last without air as his lungs seemed to have stopped working. Arthur leaned around him and picked up the other shirt, whispering in his ear as he got close enough that Merlin could feel his breath, making him shiver all over again.

"Breath Merlin, I need you, don’t give up on me now."  
"Never. Always yours, always for you."

Merlin whispered back as he leant into his King for just a moment, gathering his strength, and his libido. Arthur pulled back just far enough to help him put the soft blue shirt on, leaving it open. Arthur looked around the floor at the discarded clothes and picked up a square of red cloth, long ago cut from an old light cloak of his that was being thrown away and tied it carefully around Merlin's neck, exactly as it should be, hiding the beautiful pale skin from others and marking him as his own. He smoothed the material down and thoroughly enjoyed the shiver it got him before pulling Merlin in close and hugging him tight to his chest after he saw the lost look in his eyes.

"We will be fine. I am King, and you are my Merlin, 'my' sorcerer! We have never failed yet, and we will not now, do you understand?"  
"Yes my King."

Merlin's voice was a little too shaky for Arthur's liking, he needed Merlin to be strong and to keep him in line, he couldn’t loose his temper here with these people, he had no authority over them and no Knights to back him up so couldn’t chance any risk to Merlin, but he needed Merlin to keep him strong and centred.

"We will prevail Merlin! You will stand at my side as you have ever done and you will be my strength, do you hear me? I have not seen a sword since we got here but many had a sheath of some sort on their belts, like Steven's, I don’t know what it is but I know a weapon when I see one, I don’t know how to fight these people if I have to Merlin, and I am still wounded, despite the lack of pain for now, I need to know you are with me Merlin, I need to know you can be strong for me!"

Merlin looked at his King and could have cried.

"I have tried to be strong for you!"  
"I know my Merlin, I know, but I need you one more time, I need to know you can stand by me, can protect me, like you always have, I need to know you wont hold back any more, because now I know, and I want to see you for myself, like I saw you at Camlann, but I want to see your face as you protect me, not a disguise, just you. I want to see your beautiful eyes shine as you weave your magic Merlin, I want to see you!"

Merlin stood staring at him in shock for a long while, the reality of their situation had been creeping in on him, slowly overwhelming him with the knowledge of all they had lost and all they had to learn to try and fit in, in this impossible new time, his barriers broken down by a simple tender touch from the man he had loved for so long, and as usual his King knew, knew exactly what was wrong and how to fix it. Arthur knew that nothing could motivate Merlin like protecting others, especially Arthur his self. He nodded decisively and squared his shoulders, now was not the time to break down, he could do that later when they were somewhere safe and his King was ready to help him through it, or join him in a minor melt down, either way, they would get through it together.

"Yes my King! I am with you, always."

Arthur smiled at the renewed strength in his most loyal friend's voice and could have kissed him, but he didn’t trust his self to stop once he had started so decided to wait for a better time.

"Right, lets get this over with then."

He pulled Merlin back in for a quick hug before he let him go and walked over to the door, calling over his shoulder with a smile as he opened the door.

"Boots Merlin!"

Merlin cursed as Arthur chuckled at him opening the door, dropping to the floor to pull on the shiny black ankle boots as Nick and Steven walked back in. Nick looked down at Merlin then over to his lover, more than a little bewildered by Merlin's muttered cursing. 

"Couldn’t let me get ready, no! Why would you do that? Where would be the fun in that eh? Prat!"

Steven was chuckling at them both, and Arthur allowed his self to smile at them, he was likely going to be spending quite some time around these people and had to start getting used to them some time. He also had to start getting used to not being treated like a king, he had no authority over anyone now, not even Merlin, not that he ever really had with Merlin, he had always been a free spirit and made sure everyone knew it. This was not just a case of improving foreign relations, it was getting used to a whole new way of life. To be realistic, the first thing he had to worry about was weapons and defence in this new time, he still didn’t know what the things in the small sheaths were but he was certain they were weapons, he really wanted to know what they were and how to use them. But first they had to get through the meeting with this 'Lester', whoever he was and hope that was as far as it went for a while at least, he wanted some time alone with Merlin in a safe, quiet place so he could finally claim him properly. Merlin finished putting his boots on and jumped up, picked Excalibur up off the table and strapped her around Arthur's waist, then stood behind his King's shoulder, ready to face the world, together.

"Right, Lester is waiting in his office with an honour guard, the halls are clear and Nick will introduce you."  
"Thank you, both of you. I will make a formal petition to your 'Lester' for a commendation for both of you, and those that saved my life, it is not a debt I will forget, though I have no way of showing my gratitude at the moment other than my sincere thanks."  
"Your thanks are all that is necessary. We would have done the same for anybody, no matter who they were. The fact that we got to meet you is frankly amazing, it's not everyday you get to meet a legend, let alone two. Now, if you would follow us, we can take you to Lester, that's his name by the way, not a title."  
"Ah, thank you."

Merlin giggled at that, they had both assumed that 'Lester' was a title, he was glad Nick had told them now before they met the man.

"What is the correct form of address for his position?"

Nick and Steven shared a look, both thinking that 'asshole' really wasn’t a fair thing to tell them, not that Lester was really that bad, and they knew the two young men would be mortified and possibly never forgive them if they tricked them with something as important, to them, as this.

"Um, we generally call him Lester but I suppose if you want to be formal 'Sir James' would have to be it, he's Sir James Lester."  
"Thank you."

Arthur took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, Merlin doing the same at his shoulder, as they prepared to meet this new man. Nick nodded at Steven and they opened the door, leading their guests out the room and back to the Hub. The halls were clear and the Hub was manned with as few people as they could manage, which meant Conner at the ADD and a few other people dotted about at computers. Arthur walked straight and proud, hand on his sword and Merlin just as proud at his shoulder as they followed Nick and Steven up the ramp to Lester's office. Nick and Steven stepped through the door and moved to the side so Arthur could see the whole office clearly. As they walked in and Lester got his first proper look at Arthur, Nick caught a thoroughly geeky look of glee on the mans face before he hid it behind his usual mask of almost contemptuous disinterest and wished he had a camera. 

Arthur scanned the room for threats as he always did and took in everything, as did Merlin. Lester was wearing his usual three piece suit, his only concession to the meeting a shoulder holster under his jacket, which Arthur and Merlin zeroed in on immediately. Five fully armed security guards stood behind Lester with P90's held across their chests at the ready, though they had been warned very sternly by Lester that if either of their guests got shot he would have them locked in isolation with nothing but Barney songs played 24/7. They had all decided at that point that they would probably help the guests if they did get violent, that was beyond cruel and unusual punishment! 

Arthur stood just beyond the doorway, head high, eyes fixed on Lester and wishing dearly for proper clothing, chain-mail and his crown, not to mention Leon, Percival, Gwaine and the others. He hadn't been joking when he said he felt half naked without his cloak, he had been raised wearing it, or one like it, for most of his life and had never had a formal meeting with a foreign dignitary without one, at least he had Merlin at his side. He knew he could concentrate on Lester and Merlin would make sure the others were no threat. Merlin was doing just that, he was watching every person in the room except Lester. Nick and Steven had been friendly so far and he hadn't felt anything but kindness from them but he wasn’t so stupid as to ignore them when the life of his King was at stake. They had both noticed Lester's quickly hidden look of glee when they entered the room, that didn’t mean they would lower their guard however, both of them needed to get a better feel for the man that was running this place. After a moment Steven shook his head at Nicks oblivious waiting around and stepped forward between Lester and their guests.

"Sir, please allow me the privilege of introducing to you King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot and the Five Kingdoms, and his Court Physician and Sorcerer, Merlin. King Arthur, Merlin, may I introduce Sir James Lester, head of the Anomaly Research Centre."

Arthur nodded in a show of respect and Merlin bowed formally as they were introduced, though he never took his eyes off the room. Lester wasn’t sure what the proper protocol was in Camelot so he took his cue from them and decided to go with a compromise, he bowed from the waist, kept eye contact with Arthur and didn’t bow too low. 

"We thank you for your hospitality and your medical assistance Sir James. Your people do you honour, they are a credit to your fine leadership."  
"Thank you, your Majesty, my men are a credit to their selves as much as I. We are honoured to have you with us and I hope we can continue to be of help to you in this trying time. I take it you are feeling much improved since you arrived, my chief medical officer informed me your surgery had gone well but he didn’t expect you to be awake for a while yet, let alone up and about."  
"Thanks to your fine physicians and Merlin, I am indeed much improved. I would like to take this opportunity to commend your men, Nick and Steven, without them our time since arriving here could have been much more stressful, and less peaceful."  
"Yes, they do tend to affect one's stress levels."

Arthur and Merlin both got the impression that Sir James was not exactly agreeing in the same vein as Arthur's compliment had been made, but ignored it for now. 

"I fear I can offer nothing in return for your hospitality other than our time and experience. If there is any way in which we can begin to repay you, please do not hesitate to ask."  
"Oh no, your Majesty, you don’t need to repay us in any way, we are glad to be of service."  
"Indeed not, Sir James, honour demands it. Merlin and I are at your mercy, were more so when we arrived and I was near death. Your men have saved my life, when none from my home could have, you have given us sustenance and shelter and shared knowledge with us. You have shown me the honour of meeting me armed and guarded, even though I get the impression it is not your custom. We are out of time and out of place, we are an anachronism to you and your people, yet you treat us with honour and respect. You and your people have met us as equals, though most of you have the benefit of years upon us. We know nothing but what your men have shown and told us of your time. You are a credit to your selves, I can only hope we will be as fortuitous in others we meet, and pray we do our selves such credit as you have."

Lester stood in stunned silence for a long while, trying to digest that, and fighting down the blush at such high praise from King Arthur his self!

"Um, yes, well, thank you, your Majesty."  
"I fear that title lost it's meaning when we lost our home, please, call me Arthur, though I fear it will take some getting used to."  
"Oh I'm sure that wouldn’t be appropriate."  
"I am 26 years of age Sir James, and only three people in my life have called me by name, I think I will like it."  
"Very well, please, call me James."  
"Thank you James."  
"You are welcome Arthur. If it's not too much of a bother I would love to sit and talk once you have settled in. I'm sure after the day you've had you would appreciate a shower and bed. We can work out between us what happens next, but my medic was very insistent that you be considered on medical leave for at least a few weeks, and he would appreciate seeing you at your convenience, just to reassure his self you are well."

Arthur looked to Merlin in confusion but just got a shrug back.

"Your physician may see me when he is available, tomorrow, if it suits him. Merlin is my physician and will see to me as he always has, though I am sure he will welcome instruction in your ways from such a learned man as saved me. I would welcome a chance to talk to you, if it pleases, and we would appreciate a place to rest. I am afraid I have never heard of this 'shower'?"  
"Yes, it is a way to bathe without a bath. It's easier to show you than try to explain. I'm sure Nick or Steven would be happy to show you to a room and explain anything for you. I'm afraid the room here wont be what you are used to, we only have them for the odd occasion when people don’t have time to go home between shifts so they aren't much. It has been a pleasure to meet you both and I look forward to getting to know you both better, but for now I will leave you to Nick and he can get you settled in."  
"Thank you again James, I'm sure we will talk soon. Fare well."

With that Arthur nodded his respect again, Merlin bowed, and they both stepped back towards the door.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter 2

Nick grinned at Steven and headed out the door, leading the two young men towards the living quarters. He looked back at Merlin and grinned again.

"Not sure what you'll think of the rooms, I'm afraid we don’t have much in the way of VIP quarters."  
"VIP?"  
"Very Important Person, or People. It just means all the rooms are the same, like Lester said they're only here in case someone who works here decides to stay overnight, so it's not much, but the beds are ok and the water's hot."  
"Thank you Nick, for everything."  
"Not a problem lad come on, the rooms are just down here, I'll show you the showers."

Nick led them both in to one of the spare rooms turning the lights on as he went, he ignored the bed and led them straight to the bathroom, explaining as he showed them what to do.

"Right, this is the shower. You pull this cord here to turn it on, we'll explain electricity later, for now just accept that things work. Once the power is on you open the door and press this button, which starts the water."

He took a moment to take in the wonder on both their faces as the water started pouring out of the shower head, only looking away to glance at the light every so often.

"This dial controls the temperature, the blue is colder, red hotter, just turn it a little bit at a time until you get it how you want it. Next time you use it, it will come on at the temperature you left it on. All the rooms are supplied with the basics, this is your shampoo, for your hair, that one is body wash, the other one is conditioner, also for hair if you want to use it, I don’t bother but Steven does. I imagine you're ready for a bit of privacy now, so we'll leave you. If you need anything, just go back to the Hub, the big room, and ask anyone, they'll find me or Steven for you."  
"Um, sorry, but what is that?"

Merlin sounded confused and he was pointing at the toilet, it took a while for Nick to figure out the problem as he turned the shower back off.

"Oh hell! Yeah, didn’t consider that. Right, that is a loo, a privy? Chamber pots went out of use quite a while ago. You lift the lid, if you just need to pee you lift the seat too. Once you're done, you pull the flush, well, you push it, here."

Nick found it both funny and a little embarrassing to be explaining something as basic as a toilet to two full grown men, it seemed a little ridiculous. 

"Right, these switches on the wall that I've been using, they're light switches, it's just simple on and off, you only have two options so you really can't go wrong. So, I'll leave you for now, and unless I hear from you before, we'll come and get you in the morning. I'll have someone bring you a hot meal later if you want, or you could join a group of us to eat if you want?"  
"I think it would be nice to eat with others, once we've had some time alone."  
"Yeah, um, I hate to be a bother, but a shower sounds like it could be nice and we both need to bathe but we don’t have any clean clothes. I'm sorry, but this material is too thick for me to wash and dry it before we need to wear it again."  
"Oh, don’t worry, we should have thought of showers before we got you all dressed up to meet Lester."  
"I can pop out and grab a few things now, then I can go over a few sites with them tonight and have it delivered tomorrow, it's not a problem."  
"Right, that's sorted then. Steven will go and get you a few things now and we'll worry about the rest later, for now, I think we'll leave you for a while, it's just after half two now, so we'll come and get you at five, with some clothes. You'll be ok here till then?"  
"We'll be fine, thank you again Nick, this would have been a lot more unpleasant without you."  
"Ach, don’t lad, you'll have me blushing soon!"  
"He means it too, his ears go all pink, it's adorable!"  
"Hush you! Come on, lets go, give them some peace! Bye lads, come on Love, we actually had work to do before this started!"

With that Nick grabbed Stevens hand and dragged his laughing lover out of the room as they both waved at the two young men. Arthur shook his head, a little bewildered, before looking back at Merlin. His young friend was tired, it was plain enough to him though others wouldn’t see it, and it was no surprise with all they had gone through in the last few days. 

"Come here Merlin."

Merlin looked over to him, his face open and content.

"What?"  
"Come here."  
"I'm right here!"  
"Not yet you're not, come here."  
"Oh!"

Arthur smiled at that, Merlin had finally got it and slowly shuffled closer, unsure of his self now they were alone. As soon as he was in arms reach Arthur reached out and gently clasped the back of his neck to pull him closer, using his free hand to gently tip his head to the side so he could lean in and kiss him gently on the lips. Merlin sighed and leaned in closer, closing his eyes and just revelling in the feel of his King so close, soaking up the heat coming from him and feeling at home for the first time since he had first realised he was different than the other boys in his village. Arthur wanted nothing more than to throw him down on the bed and ravish him, but he knew exactly how much experience Merlin hadn't had so he reigned his self in and decided he was going to relish this. 

************ 

It wasn’t long after they had finished their shower that Steven knocked on the door. Merlin made sure his towel was firmly wrapped around him and let him in. Steven smiled as he handed over the bags of new clothes he had bought them, and made sure his eyes never strayed. Arthur was watching him carefully and was pleased to note that he never dropped his eyes to look at either of their uncovered bodies. 

"Here ya go! I wasn’t sure what you would want for casual wear so I got a bit of a selection, I'm sure you can find something you don’t mind too much. After we've eaten I'll take you through some catalogues, then you can chose for your selves. There are lots of different types of clothes now, so it may take a while to find what you want, but we can just keep looking until you do, there's no hurry."  
"How are we to pay for these clothes?"  
"Don’t worry about that, we've got it covered."

Arthur just stared at him for a long while, face blank but somehow expectant. Steven glanced at Merlin for help, or at least a translation of that look. Merlin shrugged at him.

"Um, you kinda missed the point Steven. We have nothing but what we arrived in. Arthur doesn’t have any money at all because he doesn’t carry any and I didn’t think I would need to take a purse into battle with him, we shouldn’t have needed any until we got back to Camelot. We have nothing."  
"Right. I take it this is an honour thing? I mean, we understand you just arrived here without planning it, we've had people come through anomalies before, we help them get back or acclimatise to now, either way we don’t expect them to pay for anything. Once you get settled I'm sure you can find jobs or something, but for now we would be honoured to help you in any way we can, believe me, it's no bother. Consider it a gift."  
"A gift from a subject is to curry favour, better known as a bribe. A gift from a foreign dignitary is to be reciprocated. A gift from a stranger is a bribe at best and more usually a threat and family are much the same. I only ever accept the second and as I am incapable of reciprocating, that is not possible. Charity is not something I have ever been in a position to need or appreciate, it does not sit well with me Steven, I am sorry, but it just doesn’t, and now I am in no position to turn it down. It does not sit well."

Steven stood looking him in the eye for a long time, they could both see the empathy in his eyes as he tried to think of some way to get them through this with their honour and dignity in tact. Then his eyes suddenly began to shine and his face lit up with a smile.

"Got it! You've spent your entire life being a soldier! Why stop now? Ok, so you wont be leading a country, or even an army, but you can still be a soldier. I'll talk to Nick, I'm pretty sure Lester would find a way to give you the Crown Jewels if you asked for them, so if we tell him you're bored, or need some exercise or something, he'll give you free reign, you can work your way in from there."  
"Is the sword still used? I haven't seen another since I woke up."  
"Well, not really, but it's gotta be good exercise! And discipline. And don’t take this the wrong way, but if King Arthur is offering to teach, everyone is gonna wanna learn the damn sword!"  
"Why?"  
"For one, you're 'King Arthur'! who wouldn’t want to learn from you? And to be honest, I always wanted to learn fencing, the rich kids all got to learn at school if they wanted, but my parents could never afford that kind of thing and plenty of others are in the same boat."  
"Strange, at home every boy was taught the sword by their parents, and even many girls, I mean, I'm not great but I know how to not hurt myself while I stop someone killing me."  
"Just about."  
"Prat!"  
"You have improved recently, to be fair, but you are pretty bad."  
"Compared to you most people are bad."  
"True."

Merlin couldn’t help smiling at Arthur's smug little grin. He had always loved watching him with a sword, he was poetry in motion in battle.

"You could do with some work on your mace though."

Arthur looked at him carefully for a while then grinned.

"I knew you cheated you little pipsqueak!"   
"Cheat? No, I just used the resources available to me."  
"Why don’t you two get dressed and I'll take you down to the firing range, it should be quiet at the moment and you really need an introduction to guns as soon as possible if you're going to stay here for any length of time. Just so you know, you wont be able to carry your sword around, it's illegal in public, and you need a license for a gun too, but Lester will deal with all that, we all have licenses here, because you never know what might come through the next anomaly, I'm a sniper, I use a long range rifle, usually with tranquilliser darts, we try not to kill the animals that come through if we can help it, but sometimes they leave us with no choice. So, grab some clothes and I'll introduce you to a few guns, ok?"  
"Thank you Steven, you are an uncommonly good man."  
"Just trying to help, I'm nothing special, I'll be outside."

Before either of them could say a word he was gone, they looked at each other and grinned. Merlin started going through the bag of clothes and it wasn’t long before they were both dressed and following Steven to the firing range. There was a group of three soldiers practicing at one end of the range and Steven didn’t recognise them, so he took them to the opposite end after getting a hand gun and magazines for each of them. 

"Right, I'll show you how to take them apart and clean them once we finish, you should never leave a weapon dirty, but for now, this is a Glock 17, generation 4, each magazine holds 17, 9mm bullets, she's light and easy to look after and handles like a dream. So, to start with you take a magazine and slot it in right here in the handle, you can hear it click into place, this is the magazine release button, and this is the safety, never put your finger on the trigger or switch off the safety until you intend to shoot, never aim a gun at anything you don’t intend to shoot, that's how people end up dead accidentally. So, you stand inside your cubby, put your ear protectors on because it's bloody loud, then point the gun down the range, then flip off the safety, like so, then you want to put your free hand under the butt for stability, look down the barrel, aim at the centre mass, in the middle, then put your finger in the trigger guard and gently squeeze, don’t pull the trigger, it'll screw your aim, like this."

Steven fired three rounds then secured and put the Glock down and turned to them.

"You got the general idea?"  
"I think so, it looks a lot easier than I imagine it will be."  
"Yeah, you're not wrong, I've been shooting since I could hold a gun, my dad ran a gun club so I got taught young, rifles are my favourite, I love sniper work, but I'm happy with any gun. Now Merlin, I want you to try."  
"Why me? Why not Arthur?"  
"Because if I do really well, Steven doesn’t want you to worry more and make it harder."  
"I wouldn’t have put it that way, but come and have a go."

Merlin took a deep breath and moved forward into the cubby, put the ear protectors on, pointed the gun down the range and then put it back down and turned back to them.

"But I have magic, I can use that, I don’t need a weapon, I am a weapon! I don’t need to do this!"

Arthur stepped forward, seeing just how close to a panic Merlin was, and though he didn’t understand why, he did know how to stop it. He gently cupped Merlin's face between his hands and looked straight into his eyes, speaking quietly. 

"Merlin, breath for me. You are my Merlin, and I need you to do this for me. Steven thinks we need to do this, we are in his lands my Merlin, do this for me."  
"Always for you my King."

Merlin practically whispered then he shook his self and nodded. Arthur nodded back to him and stepped back. Merlin stepped back up to the gun and started again, only this time he actually pulled the trigger. He hit about two inches off the centre of the target, then did the same twice more, putting the second and third bullets almost through the first hole.

"Holy shit! And that is what we call a natural! You really aren't going to need me much, just keep practicing and get comfortable being around and using the gun, I don’t want you getting hurt because you hesitated to pull the trigger, but I will get you a tranquilliser gun, I think you will be much happier with something non-lethal."  
"Please, I don’t like it."  
"Have you ever killed before Merlin?"  
"Yes."  
"On purpose? Not just trying to protect your self or others, but intended to kill."  
"Once. Morgana. Just before we came here, Arthur was dying and she wouldn’t leave us alone, she has hurt him so many times, and she wouldn’t leave it, I just wanted her to die, she hurt Arthur so much, I had to stop her."  
"Oh Merlin, you should never have had to do that, but I knew you wouldn’t let her hurt me, you have protected me since we met, even when you were cheating, you always made me feel safe."

Steven stayed quiet while they worked through it together, giving them as much time as they needed. Eventually Merlin shook his self off and waved Arthur to the target.

"Come on then, show me how it's done."  
"I wish I had your confidence in me Merlin."

Arthur stepped forward and did exactly as he had been instructed, he fired three shots and managed to get one within the outline, though all three hit the target, just. Merlin shot a confused look at Steven who just grinned. Arthur put the gun down and turned back to Steven.

"So, how do I fix that?"  
"But, how?"  
"Arthur is a master swordsman Merlin, he fights close range, even a millimetre off at the gun can be a foot off at the target, and it gets worse the further you shoot, it's just an aiming issue, nothing that can't be fixed with practice."

Arthur and Merlin both believed Steven, he hadn't done anything to bring his trustworthiness into question so far, so they took him at his word, which was why the comments they then heard from the soldiers that had been watching them didn’t create a problem, which was lucky for the soldiers.

"They really do hire on looks here don’t they? Another arrogant pretty boy we have to put our lives on the line for."

Arthur straightened up to his full height and moved so he could look the man right in the eye, Merlin at his shoulder, as he replied quietly and calmly. 

"I have been putting my life on the line in my fathers army since my tenth year! I may be King by the grace of the Fates but I lead my fathers army by my 16th year through merit! By my 15th year no knight of Camelot could best me with a sword, by my 16th I won The Games. I beat the best knights the Kings of Briton could send. Maybe I am arrogant, but I have earned it! With Merlin at my side I have united Albion! What is your legacy? I saw a gun for the first time today, find a sword and I'll see how well you do. If you can stand against me for two minutes I'll accept your criticism, if you can stand against Merlin for three I'll consider you worth training."  
"Merlin and Camelot? Who the hell do you think you are?"  
"I know I am King Arthur of Camelot and the Five Kingdoms, who do you think you are?"  
"I'm the guy whose about to kick your mental ass, you nutcase!"  
"Fanning! I'm sure you have a perfectly good excuse, which you will be explaining in your report. I don’t care how capable our civilians are, we get paid to protect them, not the other way around, if you can't handle that I suggest you request reassignment, immediately. The rest of you, full reports on my desk in an hour. If you wanna be employed tomorrow Fanning, your report will be accompanied by a formal apology to his Majesty and an explanation for Sir James, to explain why you thought it was ok to start on not only a civilian, but a foreign dignitary, a sovereign he holds in very high personal esteem. This is not how we work here, or any posting I have ever had. Dismissed."

As soon as the soldiers left the man turned to them and gave Steven a small smile.

"Your Majesty, Sir, Steven, I apologise for the lads behaviour, there is no excuse."  
"Don’t worry about it Tom, they're all cocky when they get here, they'll soon calm down. Arthur, Merlin, may I introduce Major Tom Ryan, the head of our Military detail, the guy that's kept us alive so far."  
"Major."  
"Your Majesty."  
"Please, call me Arthur."  
"If you insist, please call me Tom."  
"I didn’t know you were back yet Tom? You here for good or just a visit?"  
"Just a visit today Steven, I'm here to brief my new Second in Command, Captain Becker will be here in a bit, I just thought I'd do the rounds before he got here, get the feel of the place again."  
"But you will be back permanently?"

Steven was a little worried by the way Tom was speaking, and how tired he looked.

"Eventually, with a desk job, they've said my arm is as good as it's going to get baring a miracle, so I'll never pass for active duty again. At least they didn’t Medical me out, which I hear I have Lester to thank for."  
"Yeah, we stormed his office when we heard about it, we were all planning a sit in until he did something, only as soon as we got there he showed us the email he'd already sent, I would never have credited it if I hadn't seen it for my self, but he really went all out for you."  
"Yeah, he acts the hard bastard but he's a marshmallow really."

Tom and Steven both snorted at that. Merlin looked between the two of them.

"I found him to be particularly pleasant and welcoming for a Lamia."

Everyone stared at him for a long time.

"What?"  
"Again, Merlin, I don’t think they knew that."  
"Really? I would have thought a Lycan at least would have smelt it! Did you really not know?"  
"I knew, I'm just surprised you do, and mentioned it around mundanes."  
"What mundanes? Arthur is the Once and Future King, Steven is a Cambion, you're a Lycan and I am the Old Religion personified. Is that sort of thing still hidden here then?"  
"Yes, very much so. Mundanes think we are myths and legends, a bit like you really."  
"Excuse me, sorry for being the uninformed Muppet again, but is a Lycan what it sounds like? And what the hell is a Lamia?"  
"Ah. Sorry Steven, yes, it's pretty much what it sounds like, I'll explain the difference later, and you would call him a vampire."  
"You are bloody kidding me! Christ, don’t 'ever' tell Conner!"  
"No, Temple is not one I would like knowing anything about me, and the Boss would kill me if I let anything slip, and he's one of the few that could."  
"If its not too forward, how were you injured Major?"  
"Tom, and we had a bit of a disagreement with what we call a 'Future Predator', they are somehow descended from bats, and they are almost impossible to stop, especially in my skin."  
"Why did you not shift?"  
"I've trained myself, since I was old enough to shift, to not shift without thought, to protect myself from mundanes. You can't work in a high stress position like Special Forces and shift every time you get stressed or you get dead, by the time I decided it was worth the risk the thing was dead and Cutter was dragging me home. I only survived because I'm Lycan, but even I can't heal this level of damage."  
"I could try if you like? I can't promise anything, but I can try."  
"You can heal?"  
"Arthur was in surgery early this morning, sword through the gut, took over two hours of surgery to put him back together, then Merlin finished the job, barely a scar now."  
"Wow. Sir, if you could get me back on active duty, if you could even try, I would be forever in your debt."  
"No, you wouldn’t. Healing is not a commodity, it is a gift, it is given, not sold. If I can heal you, the only payment would be to live your life well, because you owe it to yourself, no one else, to do so."  
"Wow. You can see where the legends came from."  
"Hell yeah. Sir."  
"Please, call me Merlin."  
"Right, Merlin. Healing is a business now, a very expensive business. We are lucky in Britain because we have the NHS, National Health Service, and they provide care for those without money or in an emergency, but privet health care is a multi billion pound industry, even Faith Healers can rake in millions, and most of them are con men, fakes. If you can actually, truly, heal you could be a millionaire in a year if you wanted."  
"I have no idea what a millionaire is, from your tone I take it that would be a good thing, but I don’t like the idea of people getting rich off those in need."  
"Most decent people don’t, but a lot of people prey on the weak and desperate, and if people find out you can heal it would be a nightmare, trust me, you wouldn’t get a moments peace and things could get very ugly very fast! And I'll explain our money to you later. How long till the new Captain is supposed to be here?"  
"About two hours."  
"Right, well, we came down here on our way to dinner, why don't we go highjack the infirmary, Merlin can have a quick look, the doc can check you out, then we can go eat?"

Tom looked from Steven to Merlin and back before looking to Arthur, obviously waiting for permission. Arthur smiled.

"You know your strength better than I Merlin, if you feel ready after healing me then lets go."

Merlin smiled at Arthur's confidence and belief in him.

"I can look it over, see how bad it is, then let you know."

They all started towards the infirmary.

"I can't make any guarantees because it is an older wound, Arthur's were fresh, the damage recently done, which makes it easier. I imagine you had similar care from your physicians as Arthur did, which should help, they healed much that would have been beyond me, though that was damage from a magical blade so it naturally resisted magical healing."  
"Why is that Merlin? What spell was on it?"

Arthur asked curiously.

"Mordred had a Dragon Blade, like Excalibur but not as strong."  
"Pardon?"  
"Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that didn’t I? Right, when you were supposed to fight the Black Knight I went to Kilgharrah for help, a sword forged in a Dragons breath was the only thing that could have defeated him, then your father took your place and Kilgharrah got mad at me because only you were supposed to wield her. To be honest I think it was mostly because your father had all the Dragons killed off and chained him beneath Camelot, and to be fair I wouldn’t have wanted to help him after that."

Arthur was quiet for a while as they approached the infirmary, then he sighed and shook it off.

"So how do you wish to proceed Steven? If knowledge of Merlin's healing would be problematic do you think it wise to use it here?"  
"Our CMO already knows from earlier, and all our people know better than to speak about anything that happens here with anyone from outside, we work with the highest level of secrecy. I can't even tell my family where the office is let alone anything else."  
"How do you hide so much knowledge? The portal Kilgharrah made was easily visible."  
"Unfortunately people do sometimes see them, and sometimes things come through, we do our best and get people to sign a Non-Discloser Agreement, so if they say anything they get put in prison, and who would believe them anyway? But the staff and soldiers here are the best in Britain so as long as you don’t do anything in plain sight of outsiders it'll be fine. With the amount of people we have lost to death or disability everyone will just be too happy to have a higher chance of survival to think about ruining it."

Arthur and Merlin nodded their understanding as they entered the infirmary and Tom stripped his top half so Merlin look at his shoulder. Merlin grinned but didn’t stop him, who was he to pass up a harmless free show? Tom sat his self on one of the infirmary beds and Merlin told him to lay down, then closed his eyes holding his hand over the wounded shoulder. He concentrated for a moment, muttering a spell under his breath as he 'felt' out the damage. He stepped back and opened his eyes after a moment, smiling.

"There's hardly any damage left, I can see where they have fixed most of it, its only the connections between the muscles and the mind that are still broken."

Steven and Tom shared a look as they thought about it for a moment, then Tom spoke.

"You mean the nerve damage?"  
"I don’t know that word."  
"Like you said, the path between the brain and the muscles. The brain gives an electrical impulse which flows through the nerves to pass the message on to the muscles and create action."  
"Right, then yes, nerves."  
"Yeah, we can't heal those."  
"Which explains why they fixed everything else. It's a good job I can fix them, then, and it wont take long either, give me five minutes of your time and I'll be done if you will allow me."  
"Allow? I'd beg if I thought it was necessary! Please go ahead and fix!"

Merlin smiled, chuckling at Tom's enthusiasm, looked to Arthur for permission and once he had it stepped forward and held his hand over the wound again. Tom gasped as Merlin said 'Berchthlinough' and his eyes flashed gold, remembering a memo that had been sent around recently, making a note to ask about it as soon as possible. He gasped again, only louder, when his arm started tingling painfully, like he had just released a trapped nerve, appropriately enough, and gotten major pins and needles. It was almost enough to bring tears to his eyes but he managed to fight it off for the few moments it lasted, then it settled down and his fingers twitched for the first time since the attack. He couldn’t help it, he tried to move his fingers, like he had a thousand and more times over the last month with no results, and did cry when it worked. He had given up hope of ever being able to use his arm again, of ever being useful, in his own eyes, again, of being a soldier, and now he had it all back the relief and joy and were overwhelming. Merlin smiled compassionately at him before moving back to give him space. Tom took a deep breath and wiped his face, blinking to clear his eyes and then took another deep breath, pulling his self together. He sat up and swung his legs off the bed, clenching and releasing his fist, not quite believing he could, and turned to Merlin giving him a perfect parade ground salute.

"Anything! If there is any way humanly possible, anything you want or need I will provide. Anything."

Merlin couldn’t help smiling at the honest gratitude and knew Tom was completely sincere.

"Thank you Tom, like I said, healing is a gift, it cost me nothing, if it gained me your friendship I am better off than I was."

Steven gave a stunned bark of laughter.

"That gained you eternal gratitude from every soldier here, and most of the rest of us too! Tom has kept us alive since the beginning, we'd all be dead so many times over without him. Every one of his men would kill or die for him because they know he would do the same for them and you just gave him back to us, believe me, right now we are all in your debt. And you worried about charity? Fuck, no worries there!"

Merlin looked a little confused at that level of gratitude but Arthur smiled.

"How would Leon and Gwaine and the others have reacted to you saving me?"  
"Had me burnt at the stake."  
"Merlin! Anyone else, yes ok, they probably would, but not you, they would have packed your things and escorted you out of Camelot before father found out if others knew, but how grateful would they have been?"  
"Yes, they would have done anything for me."  
"And magic isn't illegal here, most don’t even believe in it."

Merlin looked at Steven for a moment then sighed.

"I'm still going to have to hide aren't I?"  
"Not hide so much as be circumspect. Here in the ARC you can use anything you like, but I would suggest being careful outside, like the healing it would get a lot of attention and some people, some people are crazy, no matter how hard society tries, and crazies can't be predicted. There was an incident not too long ago, an actress in America was attacked by a so called fan, he'd gone crazy and stalked her, then attacked her in her own home, luckily she knew Martial Arts and kicked his ass, but not everyone is so able to defend their selves."

Merlin and Arthur shared a look, they had gotten the gist of that, and understood why Steven had shared the story but that was all they got, they still had so much to learn about this new time they were in.

************

They met Captain Becker, Tom's new Second in Command later that afternoon, and he turned out to be a Lycan too, Tom was glad, it was nice to have another Lycan around and it meant he didn’t have to worry about loyalty or Becker trying to take over now that they would both be in the field. Becker was a smart pup, he took one look at the older Lycan and tipped his head, baring his throat in submission, not because he was weak, but because he recognised an older more experienced Lycan when he met one and wouldn’t fight unnecessarily. 

Merlin and Arthur had plenty to learn, between Merlin helping in the infirmary, learning all he could about modern medicine, and Arthur training everyone how to use the sword, and both of them catching up on 2000 years of scientific, medical, technological and social advances, they were never bored.

Then Lester got a job offer from the office of American President, and everything changed.

Perfectus.


End file.
